Mesaba Permitted To Void Worker Contracts

A bankruptcy judge on July 14 allowed regional carrier Mesaba Airlines to void the contracts for 1,300 pilots, flight attendants and mechanics. In a last-ditch effort to allow the two sides to negotiate the matter, the judge asked Mesaba to give the unions at least 10 days’ notice before imposing terms on its workers that would cut wages and benefits by 19.4 percent. Mesaba’s pilot union said it will strike if the airline imposes these terms. The company’s proposed cuts would reduce the average annual salary for a pilot to about $37,000, while flight attendants’ wages would go from $20,000 to $18,500 and the annual salary for a mechanic would be capped at $38,000.